Roses are the oldest source of perfume. Ancient Sanskrit documents mention rose oil, which is the strongest form of this scent, and in the Iliad’s Homer relates how Aphrodite rubbed Hector’s dead body with rose oil. What was meant by rose oil in these texts was not what we mean by this term today, since […]
Dating from 1718 to 1730, the Tulip Era of the Ottoman Empire was a momentary period that the Sultan and the public celebrated with music, festivals, ceremonies, and dances. Numerous tulips embellished the capital that most of them were poetically named such as Blue Pearl, Light of Dawn, The Divine Throne and Ruby Drop and […]
With the coming of cold winter days, Turkey’s cake and pudding shops begin serving salep in place of ice cream. On the ferryboats which ply their way between the European and Asian shores of Istanbul with smoke trailing from their funnels and chased by flocks of seagulls, many of the passengers order steaming cups of […]
